A mobile machine may be used to perform various types of work on different worksites, such as a construction site, a demolition site, a mining site, or a landfill site. For example, a bulldozer may be used to push soil and rock on a construction site. The bulldozer, as a track-type mobile machine, includes a tracked undercarriage with tracks on the left and right sides of the machine. Each of the tracks includes a chain formed by connecting a number of track links to one another, and connecting a number of track shoes to the chains. The tracks are supported by various roller assemblies on both sides of the machine.
Operation of the mobile machine inevitably results in wear or damage to various components, including components of the undercarriage such as the track links and the roller assemblies. For example, as a track assembly operates, a surface of each track link may wear away through contact with other components of the track assembly, machine, and/or outside materials (e.g., the ground). It is known to service or replace a machine component, for example, when the component exceeds its expected lifetime (based on the age of the component or number of hours of use experienced by the component), or based on the results of inspection or evaluation of the component.
These known methods for determining when components are to be serviced or replaced suffer from numerous disadvantages. For example, a particular machine component may be capable of being used far in excess of its expected lifetime, and thus replacement of the component based solely on age may be premature and result in unnecessary costs and machine down-time. Conversely, a particular machine component may fail well in advance of its expected lifetime, and continued operation of the machine with the damaged component may result in damage to other components of the machine. Similarly, inspection and evaluation of a machine component may result in unnecessary costs and machine down-time when it is determined that service or replacement of the component is not required. Still further, inspection and evaluation may require that the machine be evaluated by temporarily installing various sensors throughout the machine, with extensive cabling connecting the sensor to a computer that collects data and other information from the sensors. The cabling prevents the machine from being operated on the worksite, and thus such evaluation does not provide information relating to the actual use of the machine while performing work.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved monitoring system for collecting information, such as wear information, related to a mobile machine. The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.